


Without A Doubt

by RAVENSCORE



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Alternate Universe - School, Bullying, Gen, Hurt, Other, Rating May Change, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-09-28 10:27:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10092293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RAVENSCORE/pseuds/RAVENSCORE
Summary: When Ben Wyatt moves to Pawnee and transfers to Pawnee Elementary, he's surprised to find a nine year old teaching Mr. Swanson's fourth grade class.  This girl is possibly one of the most annoying people he's ever met.  He's just trying to make it till summer while surviving school and his parent's divorce, but when he falls in with the wrong crowd he begins to learn more about this spunky little girl and how truly unfair the world really is.





	1. First Day of School

**Author's Note:**

> I recognize that this has probably been done before but I really wanted to write it. (First few chapters will probably suck but stick with me I promise it will get better.)

Ben Wyatt was dreading opening this door. Oh look he just opened the door. Ah well, now he's just dreading walking inside, no big difference. Ben was about to start his first day of fourth grade at Pawnee Elementary School. Escorted by the principal, he walked into his new classroom. The teacher was reading a book at his desk. Standing at the front of the class a bouncy, smiling, tiny girl about his age was talking. “... And that’s when the Wamapoke Indians-”

“Oh, um Leslie your presentation that you were giving is correct.”, the teacher said slamming his book down and looking nervously at the principal. “So, you can sit down and I’ll teach now.”

“Right. Teaching. That’s what you do, cause you’re the teacher. Right.”, the girl, Leslie, says. The principal seems unfazed, still grinning foolishly.

“Mr. Swanson, your class has a new student. This is Ben Wyatt. I guess I’ll leave you guys to all your learning then!” Principal Gergich walked out waving and smiling like an idiot. Mr. Swanson picked up his book and Leslie stood back up. 

“Hi, I’m Leslie! You can sit right there!” she points to a seat next to an energetic looking boy. Ben has no clue what’s going on, but he sits. “Where were we,” Leslie starts, writing something on the chalkboard, “Oh right, so the Wamapoke…”

“Um… What’s going on, why is the teacher reading?”, Ben whispers to the boy next to him. 

 

“Hi, I’m Chris Traeger! I am literally so excited to meet you!”

“Um, I’m Ben Wyatt, hi.” He awkwardly shakes Chris’s hand. “But what’s happening?”

“Why are you two talking?”, Leslie snaps at them. “Ron, they were talking!”, she whines to the teacher. He ignores her.

“Leslie always teaches class, Mr. Swanson doesn’t care.” Chris whispers while Leslie whines. Great, now Ben has gotten on the bad side of the nine year old that is apparently his teacher.

 

***

 

Ben’s family moves around a lot, but lunch is always the worst part of a new school. He has no clue where to sit. That’s when he hears a yell.

“Hey new kid! Sit over here!” A boy at a table across the cafeteria shouts.

“Ben Wyatt!”, Chris exclaims from the other side of the cafeteria. “Sit with us!” Chris gestures to a table where a dark haired girl, an Indian boy, an African American girl, a large goofy looking boy, and a pale skinny girl are sitting. And Leslie, Leslie is sitting with them. 

He decides to sit with the other kids. He walks over and sets his tray down. “Hi, my names Ben.”

“I'm Marcus, this is Evy, and this is Tyler.” Ben listens to them talk for a while but eventually he zones out. They were mostly talking about sports and gossiping about kids he didn’t know. Ben still wasn’t quite sure he had found friends.

He wondered why he had decided not to sit with the others. They seemed nice, they were all smiling except the one girl who seemed to want to eat his soul. That’s when it occurred to him, he hadn’t decided not to sit there until he realised Leslie was sitting with them. It was just something about her that made his heart race, that made him feel so weak, so nervous. Whatever, it was probably nothing. Maybe.


	2. Tattletale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, it will get better and chapters will get longer, stick with me.

Ben really doesn’t think this is allowed. There’s got to be some sort of rule about the fact that a nine year old is lecturing them on the properties of an isosceles triangle. He raises his hand. “Yes, Ben.” Leslie looks at him smiling.

“Um, is this allowed?”

“Is what allowed?”

“You, teaching the class.”

“Well… Not technically no, but-”

“Then why do you get to boss us around?”

“Because… well-” Leslie stutters.

“Because I said so.” The teacher says nonchalantly without looking up from his book. This shuts down the giggles and wide stares coming from around the classroom.

“But can’t you get in trouble?” Ben implores.

“Not if no one knows.” Leslie countered confidently.

“Well what if someone told?” Everyone goes quiet and stares at him. Leslie’s face turns ashen. She seems shocked by the possibility that Ben would tell. He honestly has no idea what it is with kids his age and telling.

“You wouldn’t tell would you?” He feels everyone’s eyes on him. 

“I don’t know.” Ben gives this simple response since he has no clue what to say. But just when Leslie opens her mouth, he’s saved by the bell, class is over.

 

***

 

On his way outside he sees the kids from the day before, Marcus, Evy, and Tyler.

“That was awesome.” Evy tells him.

“Thanks.”

“Yeah,” Marcus adds, “Leslie Knope is such a stuck up loser, she deserves to be put in her place like that.”

“We call her Knope the dope.” Tyler informs him. Ben thinks this is a cruddy nickname, but doesn’t judge.

“I’ll be back in a minute, I’ve got to go to the bathroom.” He rushes back inside. Then he remembers that he has no idea where the bathroom is, as it’s only his second day. Then he hears something. Great, he can ask for directions! But then he listens closer, the sound he heard was crying, someone was crying. He carefully rounded the corner and stopped in his tracks. Leslie was on the floor sobbing, her dark haired friend from yesterday was sitting next to her.

“What if I get in trouble? What do you think will happen? What would I do, Ann?”

“Hey, it’s fine! You won’t get in trouble! He won’t tell, he’s just another one of Marcus's cronies, I saw him hanging out with them a few times, none of them have any guts at all.”

“But what if he does tell? What if I get in trouble? What if Ron gets fired? Oh my God, Ann, what if I get expelled?”

“Even if he did tell, it wouldn’t be something that serious, you won’t get expelled.”

“How do you know? I’ve been doing this since the beginning of the year, it’s March, Ann!”

“I won’t tell.” Ben says shaking from where he’s standing at the end of the hall. They turn to him and realize that he is there for the first time. Leslie is silent.

“What are you doing here?” her friend, Ann, demands defensively.

“Um… Bathroom…” he mumbles nervously. Leslie points weakly down the hall. “Thanks.” He rushes by as soon as he can, eager to get out of there.


End file.
